Need Blind Admission by Kevin Myers -- BOOK BEGINNING

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up. Find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

TIE IN: Sadly, Freda at Freda's Voice is taking a break from her weekly blog event, The Friday 56, Her event was a natural tie in with this event and there was a lot of cross over, so many people combined the two. Freda needs a break, but I hope she is back soon. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if the Friday 56 is on hold indefinitely. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

William James was beyond saving when the Parker College security guards discovered his body sprawled near the community garden by the border of the affluent South Parker neighborhood.

-- from Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Meyers, out now from Beaufort Books.

Need Blind Ambition is the second novel from Kevin Meyers, a former journalist turned college administrator. I love the play on words in the title, the moody cover, and that first sentence. Wow! It really grabs you, doesn't it?

I only just got my copy and haven't started it yet. I can't wait! A novel of suspense set on a college campus is my cup of tea on any day. (I'm adding it to my list of campus novels right now.) But that this one is set in my town of Portland, Oregon makes it even more tantalizing. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS 

Please add a link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag. Have fun!

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It feels so strange to post my Book Beginning without a Friday 56 teaser! Here is more informaiton about Need Blind Ambition:

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The desire for relevance--and to save his marriage--is ultimately what pushed Peter Cook to leave his beloved Alaska for the prestigious Parker College. Lured by the chance to work with his childhood political idol turned college president, Peter moves his family to Portland, Oregon to help promote his hero's fundraising initiative that would eliminate financial status from the college's admissions process.

Peter arrives on campus as the Great Recession looms, the stock market is trending toward disaster, and the opioid crisis has breached the walls of the privileged college. He quickly learns the reality of Parker College strays far from its professed idealistic mission after discovering a plot to cover-up felonious drug activity in return for a seven-figure payday to the Need Blind Campaign.

While plumbing the depths of his conscience for the conviction to do the right thing, Peter's untreated childhood trauma resurfaces, threatening to cloud his perception when it needs to be at its sharpest. Peter must stabilize his mental health while also trying to parse competing versions of "the truth" as law enforcement investigates the criminal conspiracy.

Need Blind Ambition asks: how far will a college stray to protect its reputation?

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Here's a quicky book beginnings post because I am running behind and still have a dozen things to do today, including making dinner. 

Thanks for joining me every week for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Share the opening sentence (or so) from the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your eye, even if you are not reading it right now. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The day broke gray and dull. The clouds hung heavily, and there was a rawness in the air that suggested snow.

-- from Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham. I am rereading this 20th Century classic as a buddy read on Instagram. It's a good one to read as an audiobook because that is not a title you want to be seen reading in public!

I read this in high school and found it rather plodding. But I love Maugham's short stories, so wanted to give it another try. I am now halfway through and still find it plodding. It definitely picked up when Philip goes to Paris to become an artist, but it will never win me over. It is on the Modern Library list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you share on social media. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Of Human Bondage:

He knew that Miss Wilkinson was the daughter of his Uncle William’s last rector, and he had a wide acquaintance with the daughters of clergymen. They wore ill-cut clothes and stout boots.

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up. Find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

"Hell is empty, Armand," said Stephen Horowitz.

-- from All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny. This is the 16th book in Louise Penny's "Three Pines" series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gemache. 

Unlike most of the earlier books that are set in the tiny Quebec village of Three Pines, this one takes place in Paris. Gemache and his wife are in Paris for the birth of their granddaughter and become the center of a complicated murder mystery (as frequently happens to traveling police detectives). 

The Three Pines series is a big favorite of mine. Are you a fan? There are currently 18 books in the series, so I am almost finished with it. Thankfully, Penny is not and comes out with a new book about every year. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS 

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings. 

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MY FRIDAY 56

From All the Devils are Here:

She was about, she knew, to pass what pilots call the point of no return. One more keystroke and she’d be totally committed to this course of action. 

Unsettled by Patricia Reis -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Share the opening sentence (or so) from the book you are reading this week, or just a book that caught your fancy. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The real estate agent's message was curt.

-- From Unsettled by Patricia Reis, out October 10, 2023 by Sibylline Press.

Unsettled is Patricia Ries's debut novel. It is historical fiction with a braided narrative that takes the reader from present day to the 1870s world of German immigrants in Iowa. Our present day protagonist seeks to fulfill her father's dying wish by tracking their ancestor's history and discovering a family secret. Yes, please!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the linky box below. Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnigns if you share on social media.

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Unsettled:

I had heard of mechanical milking machines but could not imagine a cow putting up with a new-fangled thing like that. I placed my cheek against the cow's flank and spoke softly to her in German while I milked.

There's nothing that says "Iowa farm in 1870" like hand milking a cow!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

In this lyrical historical fiction with alternating points of view, a repressed woman begins an ancestral quest through the prairies of Iowa, awakening family secrets and herself, while in the late 1800s, a repressed ancestor, Tante Kate, creates those secrets.

Sibylline Press was started in 2023 by four women in the publishing industry to celebrate women authors over 50. 

The Messenger by Megan Davis -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings on Fridays! Please share the opening sentence or two from the book you are reading right now. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you it is not your current read.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A shout from the darkness up ahead.

-- from the Prologue, “Christmas Eve[,] Montparnasse Cemetery,” in The Messenger by Megan Davis, out this month from Pegasus Books.

“Are you going to answer me?” my parole officer asks, her head on one side, brow heavy.

-- from chapter One, "Aubervilliers."

The Messenger is the debut novel by Megan Davis, a lawyer and screenwriter who lives in London. Set in Paris, it is the story of a 16 year old boy wrongly imprisoned for his father's murder. When he gets out of prison, he undertakes to find the real murderer. I love the premise and the Paris setting! This has all the hallmarks of a terrific thriller.

It is also going on my French Connections list!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add a link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Messenger:

On the next page, there's a map of the world. Auspicious death of a journalist is depicted by a red bullet hole.

I just started but I know I am going to race through this one!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

A simple plan for a robbery takes a sinister turn when Alex's father is found dead. Despite protesting their innocence, Alex and Sami are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later, Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: discover who really killed his father.

As he searches for answers, Alex is tormented by his sense of guilt for his father (and for Sami) and, as he begins to uncover the truth about his father's killer, other shocking revelations with far-reaching consequences come to light. Will Alex be able to survive his own personal demons and, after all this time, bring the murderer to justice?